Research Associate

Our Company
Learning for Action (LFA) is a San Francisco-based consulting firm that provides the social sector (nonprofit, philanthropic, and public organizations) with evaluation, research, strategy, and capacity-building services, with an emphasis on supporting the development of strong learning organizations. For nearly 20 years, LFA has worked with clients to design, implement, and evaluate strategies, initiatives, and programs that create meaningful social impact in the service of greater justice and equity. Our work spans a range of issue areas including, but not limited to: health and human services; early childhood, K-12, and higher education; youth development; community and economic development; justice system reform; and immigration. Ultimately, LFA’s services support the work of the social sector locally, nationally, and internationally to address the needs of communities affected by systemic oppression and inequities. Additional information about our dynamic and social justice-oriented company—including our mission, vision, and values—is available at our website: www.learningforaction.com

Our Culture
LFA’s most important asset is its people. As such, LFA is committed to living our values as a company and invests in the leadership and professional development of our staff, primarily through job-based learning and growth opportunities, and we prioritize internal promotion for growing our consulting teams. From professional development funds to our supervision model, LFA provides opportunities to ensure that each employee’s strengths are deepened, expanded, nourished, and utilized to enhance effectiveness in achieving our mission. We value a diverse workforce that is a microcosm of our communities and aligned with the social justice work of our clients. We actively strive to sustain a learning culture and an equity- and social justice-focused approach, institutionally supported by directors and committees, and guided by a set of Learning Culture Aspirations that are our North Star with respect to how we seek to engage with each other in the service of achieving our mission. For example, our Equity Leadership Team is an internal workgroup dedicated to facilitating ongoing organizational learning and developing tools and approaches for employing an equity lens both internally and in our consulting, keeping LFA’s work relevant and responsive to our clients’ diverse values and cultural contexts.

Our company thrives through our high-performing, team-based, participatory, and fun-loving work environment. To support employees, the Health and Wellness Committee supports the overall health and wellness of employees through a holistic, multi-faceted vision of health and wellness including organizing social events, sharing health- and safety-related information, offering educational opportunities, and encouraging community building.

Research Associate Position
We are currently conducting a search for a passionate, committed, skilled, and experienced Research Associate to provide support on a diverse array of team-based consulting and research projects. This is a rare opportunity to work with and learn from a high-performing group of people committed to equity and justice. The ideal candidate will contribute to the diversity of LFA, thrive on enhancing the effectiveness of social justice organizations, and support the advancement of our rising consulting firm.

What you can look forward to as a Research Associate:
▪ You’ll support a diverse array of team-based evaluation, research, strategy development, and capacity-building projects. This exposure will help you learn about a range of our consulting engagements and interact with many fields and sectors.
▪ You’ll be a permanent member on some teams, in addition to executing ad-hoc project tasks and supporting company tasks as needed. Longer-term project commitments allow you to see a project unfold over time (from start to finish) and build ongoing relationships with team members. Shorter-term ad hoc tasks mean that you’ll have lots of variety in your day-to-day work and that you’ll be able to interact with many different teams and staff members.
▪ The Research Associate position helps you gain new skills needed to develop the technical, consulting, and people skills needed to consult for the social sector. You’ll have the support of Project Directors, Project Managers, and your supervisor, who can provide mentorship and partner with you in setting and meeting your professional development goals. LFA has a strong focus on internal professional development and promoting from within.

Position Responsibilities:
Our consulting projects are team-based. Projects are led and overseen by experienced Project Directors, managed by Project Managers, and supported by Senior Research Associates. Research Associates play a critical role in helping us create excellent processes and products for our clients. Research Associates lead key research and project support tasks, including (but not limited to):
▪ Creating charts, tables, and other graphics to visualize data
▪ Programming surveys into online tools
▪ Leading data entry (including quality assurance)
▪ Conducting literature reviews and background research
▪ Formatting reports and other work products
▪ Leading administrative and logistical tasks to ensure our work runs smoothly, including scheduling stakeholder interviews, taking notes during meetings, and coordinating large client meetings

Throughout project and ad-hoc work, Research Associates will also have the opportunity to learn and grow through stretch tasks, which may include: managing and analyzing quantitative and qualitative data, supporting with data collection instrument design (e.g. surveys and interview protocols), and helping to develop evaluation tools (e.g., theories of change, logic models, and evaluation plans).

Required Minimum Qualifications:
▪ Commitment to our mission, our values of integrity, curiosity, collaboration, and compassion, and the pursuit of equity
▪ A love of learning and an interest in contributing not just technical skills but critical thinking and your own unique perspective to consulting projects and internal company initiatives
▪ An ability to work collaboratively with teams and communicate proactively and effectively
▪ 1 year of research, evaluation, or strategic planning experience in a professional or academic setting
▪ Understanding and appreciation of the history, strengths, and experiences of multiple communities, particularly those which experience systemic oppression
▪ Ability to manage multiple tasks on multiple projects in a fast-paced environment, completing tasks on-time while maintaining high quality standards
▪ Ability to seek out, receive, and provide appreciative and constructive feedback with team members
▪ Demonstrated strong organizational and time management skills
▪ Familiarity with creating and formatting charts, graphs, and formulas in Excel, and the ability to follow instructions outlined in LFA’s templates
▪ Experience and/or interest in developing engaging visual products and reports of findings, including infographics, slide docs, graphics, dashboards, etc.
▪ Aptitude for working with quantitative and qualitative data
▪ Demonstrated efficiency and attention to detail in executing administrative tasks, such as scheduling, data entry, and note-taking
▪ High proficiency in Microsoft Office applications including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook
▪ Be a U.S. Citizen, non-citizen national, or foreign national possessing a visa permitting permanent residence in the U.S. (Alien Registration or “Green Card”). Student visas and temporary work visas do not qualify.

Preferred Qualifications:
▪ Experience with SPSS or other statistical analysis software
▪ An active interest in prioritizing equity and dismantling white supremacy and all other forms of oppression and an eagerness to learn from and contribute to company-wide discussions on transforming white privilege
▪ Fluency in speaking, writing, and reading Spanish or another language, including ability to translate to and from English

We strongly encourage people of color, individuals who identify as part of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer communities, people impacted by the criminal justice system, and people with experience in the nonprofit, philanthropic, and public sectors to apply. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we do not ask about applicants’ prior arrest and conviction records.

Compensation and benefits:
This position is full time, exempt, with an annual starting salary range of $60,000 to $65,000 depending on experience. Compensation also includes 10 paid holidays (including your birthday and a floating winter holiday) and 18 additional paid days off per year (increasing to 23 days after 2 years). We are committed to positive work-life balance and have systems and support in place to help employees maintain a workload that fits into a 40-45 hour/week schedule, but the nature of consulting work and client-driven deadlines occasionally requires longer hours. LFA offers a generous benefits package for a small business, including medical, dental, vision, and life insurance and a 401k plan, professional development funds, profit sharing, and bonus structure on top of the opportunity to join an outstanding team working towards equity and justice. We are a small but mighty company, and we look forward to adding to our constellation of colleagues.

To apply:
Those interested should apply via our online form: http://learningforaction.com/careers

In the cover letter field, please indicate how you learned about this position. We will only review applications submitted via our website. We apologize that we are unable to field emails or calls about this opportunity during the application process. The deadline to apply is 11:59 pm on September 27, 2019.

Our hiring process and timeline:
▪ We will review applications after the application period closes.
▪ We will contact candidates for phone interviews in early to mid-October
▪ We will conduct a first round of in-person interviews in late October to early November
▪ If you are invited for an in-person interview, we may ask you to subsequently complete an assessment that we will provide
▪ We will conduct a second round of in-person interviews in November
▪ We will request and check references for finalists following in-person interviews
▪ We would like to have the selected candidate start in December